Two-thirds of newly diagnosed cancer patients were found to be coping reasonably well after periods of regular assessments up to 6 months after diagnosis. The remaining third were coping poorly with medical and nonmedical problems, such as concerns about health and medical care, family, financial, work, parenting, and survival. Because not every patient requires psychosocial intervention, our aim has been to develop a screening procedure to identify those at risk for later emotional and social problems. The method is not completely tested, but as a result of preliminary findings, patients at risk are invited to take part in two types of brief intervention, one of which is based on the psychotherapy model, the other, on cognitive retraining. Although cancer may have a deleterious effect on patients and families, this is not universally true. However, certain groups of vulnerable patients may need additional psychosocial assistance. On-going studies are intended to find out which patients require what kinds of help.